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A bloodstain remained on the pavement outside a nine-storey building in the sleepy Kyiv district of Berezniaky. This is not unusual in Ukraine’s shelled capital. What was unusual was how it happened.
On Wednesday morning, a conflict unfolded on the streets of Kyiv between two Ukrainian intelligence services — the SBU domestic security service and the HUR military intelligence agency. It was serious enough that three people were injured in the confrontation, two of them seriously.
Although the word “shootout” was initially used in media reports, the available videos and subsequent accounts suggest that only one side fired — the SBU. Three HUR officers were injured, two of them seriously.
The incident became the main story in Ukrainian media on Wednesday, Russian bloggers rejoiced, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was also forced to respond, calling it an “absolutely shameful situation”.
“Here in Ukraine, it is permitted to shoot only at Russian occupiers in defence of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
What happened? The current conflict between the two Ukrainian intelligence services apparently began as early as 23 August. According to HUR claims, SBU officers arrested Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps.
The unit, which falls under HUR, brings together Russians — often with far-right views — who fight alongside Ukraine against the Russian occupiers. Among other things, they became known for attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation in 2023.
Kaplunov was born in Russia and served in the Russian army, even taking part in the war in Syria. According to his lawyer, he has fought on Ukraine’s side since 2014, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, which was a turning point for him. He helped defend Kyiv, was later seriously wounded and received an award.
SBU officers arrested him outside an apartment used by HUR soldiers. Kaplunov’s lawyer claims that he was held without charge. One HUR officer said that he had been “kidnapped in broad daylight”. The NV website later published a video of his detention.
🇺🇦‼️ NV released a video of the detention of Stepan Kaplunov, deputy commander for combat work of RVC, on August 23.
In the video, Kaplunov can be heard asking “not to press on my head” because of an old wound.
He was lifted up and led to a car with the words: “Come on, get… pic.twitter.com/cN04qlLvGd
— MAKS 26 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) September 3, 2026
The SBU initially said in a statement that it was investigating an alleged terrorist plot against a member of the Russian opposition.
On Wednesday, SBU officers returned with Kaplunov in their car to the apartment they wanted to search. Personnel from the rival HUR intelligence service learned about this and were waiting for them there. A tense confrontation followed. The SBU detained three HUR officers, who it said had obstructed its investigation.
According to Suspilne, the first warning shots were then fired. The SBU’s elite Alfa unit later arrived to assist. SBU officers subsequently fired at HUR personnel. This is also shown in a video, in which a series of shots can be heard. At the end, SBU officers can be seen firing directly at HUR personnel.
⚡️Footage of the climax of the conflict between law enforcement officers in Kyiv.
The video shows how the sides raise their voices, after which a shot is fired, followed by a series of additional shots.
👉 Follow @blyskavka_ua pic.twitter.com/yDDrEPbsRP
— BLYSKAVKA (@blyskavka_ua) September 2, 2026
“One was shot in the leg, had a severed artery and bled out. He is in a very serious condition at a medical facility. The second is also in serious condition in hospital. The third was less seriously injured,” Kaplunov’s lawyer, Taras Borovskyi, told Ukrainska Pravda.
It is unclear whether HUR officers also fired. The SBU claims that its officers used weapons to stop “armed resistance”.
Its officers ultimately searched the apartment in question. Kaplunov was later released, but it was unclear where he was.
On Wednesday, the SBU said that Kaplunov had cooperated with Russia’s FSB security service and had planned to murder one of the leaders of the Russian opposition movement during Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations (24 August).
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the presidential office and the former long-serving head of HUR, commented on the situation. “No one has the right to kidnap members of the armed forces with impunity, shoot on the streets of our cities, or issue and carry out criminal orders,” Budanov said, calling for a thorough and independent investigation.
Zelensky dismissed Oleh Khramov, head of the SBU department for protection and state secrets, on Wednesday.
The information made public raises more questions than answers. The real reasons for the dispute, as well as whether the SBU or HUR acted correctly, may remain hidden for a long time.
“We will probably never know the cause of the conflict between representatives of HUR and SBU units with certainty, since it would simply be inconvenient for some people to disclose certain details. The only body that can influence and resolve the situation is the office of Ukraine’s president, which has access to all the information, the root causes of the situation, and direct influence over both sides,” wrote a Ukrainian soldier and blogger using the pseudonym Officer.
In any case, the shooting by officers of one Ukrainian intelligence service at another in broad daylight in Kyiv pleased Russian war bloggers and propagandists.
Military Informant wrote that “a small war has broken out in the middle of the Ukrainian capital”. The Two Majors channel added that “Kyiv’s two main special services are settling scores with assault rifles outside other people’s windows”.
Propagandist Alexander Kots put it most directly, describing the incident as “very interesting”.
“We are awaiting further details. But the fact that the quiet rivalry between two leading Ukrainian special services has spilled into the public sphere and led to an open conflict cannot but please us. We demand that this show continue!” he wrote on his Telegram account.
An armed conflict between the SBU and HUR is exceptional, but certain disputes have also emerged in the past. As Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller writes, both intelligence services have gained influence and power during the war. According to him, the SBU has 30,000 agents, bringing it close in size to the FBI. HUR has also grown, although not to the same extent.
One similar dispute was linked to the situation shortly after the start of the Russian invasion. Kyrylo Budanov later accused the SBU of having murdered a man named Denys Kireiev. He was a man who had worked with HUR and Budanov. Budanov had asked him to infiltrate the Russian intelligence services.
According to Budanov, Kireiev informed him of the timing and direction of Russian attacks one day before the invasion began.
He later even became part of a group of Ukrainians who negotiated a ceasefire with the Russians shortly after the invasion began.
However, he was killed in March 2022. According to Budanov, SBU officers pulled him from his car, and he was later found dead in Kyiv. The SBU reportedly said that Kireiev was a Russian agent. In 2023, the presidential office said that Kireiev had died because of poor coordination between the intelligence services.
It is difficult to say who was right in this case. What can be said with certainty is that disputes between the Ukrainian intelligence services — which have cooperated in some cases — do exist, and they certainly do not help Ukraine.
Data on the advances made by both armies in August are slowly beginning to emerge. The Russian channel Slivochny Kapriz published its data. According to it, the Russians made net gains of 220 square km last month. These figures are generally higher than those from pro-Ukrainian or independent sources. But even here, it is clear that, while this represents a slight increase, it is significantly less than at this time a year ago.
Podsumowanie sierpnia 2026 r. wojny rosyjsko-ukraińskiej.
W sierpniu 2026 r. według wyliczeń rus konta tg Creamy_Caprice (wykres poniżej), rus wojska zdobyły niecałe 220 km kw. Był to wzrost dynamiki ich zdobyczy terenowych w stosunku do lipca (176 km kw) o 25 proc. Według… pic.twitter.com/N56TsXJrOv
— Thorkill (@Thorkill65) September 2, 2026
According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War, the Russians expanded the occupied territory by a net 90 square km, or 123 square km when areas of infiltration are included. This map shows where the Russians advanced in August (dark red) and where the Ukrainians advanced (blue).
Source: ISW
The difference between how official Russian sources and pro-Ukrainian sources view the map is growing ever wider. This is well illustrated by Vladimir Putin’s bizarre claim that the Russians had captured Sviatohirsk, a city held by Ukraine some 10 km from the front line, which we wrote about on Wednesday.
The Vitalii account compared the difference between how the pro-Ukrainian DeepState UA and the Russian side saw the front in January and how they see it now. The gap has visibly widened. For example, the Russian side now reports 5,000 square km more territory under Russian control than DeepState UA, whereas in January the difference was just under 2,000 square km.
From “Where?” to “Why?” in eight months.
Difference between the sides:
On Jan:
DS grey vs. RIA — 1 000 km²
DS red vs. RIA — 1 940 km²
By Sep:
DS grey vs. RIA — 3 500 km²
DS red vs. RIA — 4 820 km²
Year started with a minor disagreement that has grown into an abyss by now. pic.twitter.com/e0d4LNjed4
— Vitaly (@M0nstas) September 2, 2026
Chart of the day
On Wednesday, we published a chart by the Tochnyi website which showed that the Russians had begun increasing attacks on Ukrainian warehouses before Ukraine’s campaign against Wildberries. French OSINT analyst Clément Molin responded to that chart, and his figures present a different picture.
His data confirm that the Russians began bombing warehouses more intensively as early as May, before the attacks on Wildberries launched by the Ukrainians in the second half of July.
Over the past month, however, the Russians have intensified their attacks significantly. According to his data, the Russians attacked Ukrainian warehouses 140 times in August, far more than in July or May, let alone the average in the preceding months.
Since I am the ‘analyst’ that made this claim, I want to give more details and statistics that I collected
It’s been 4 years Russia 🇷🇺 is targeting Ukrainian 🇺🇦 warehouses, I agree with this statement. However, I disagree with the claim that there is no link between Ukrainian… https://t.co/OIvXmfeGFi pic.twitter.com/rJxQP7yMlT
— Clément Molin (@clement_molin) September 3, 2026
According to Molin, the increase in Russian attacks from May to July was linked to Ukraine’s campaign to destroy logistics in occupied southern Ukraine, primarily through attacks on lorries.
“Since Russia is almost entirely unable to strike Ukrainian lorries, it has targeted the warehouses and fuel stations behind them,” he writes. As he added, almost no Ukrainian supermarkets were attacked at that time.
“I have no interest in commenting here on the results of the offensive campaign against Wildberries, but the claim that Russian attacks on dozens of Ukrainian civilian warehouses are unrelated to it is simply untrue. Otherwise, they would have continued attacking 10 to 20 ‘civilian’ warehouses per month instead of 120 in 45 days,” he wrote.
He acknowledged the possibility that the Russians had been preparing for this campaign and had drones ready, but doubted that the campaign would have been as intense as it is now.
The Ukrainian Vitalii account responded to Molin. It did not dispute his figures, but added context. “No one should ever doubt Russia’s ability to escalate the conflict whenever it wants. A lasting ceasefire can only be achieved if the other side also has the ability to escalate the conflict, and that is precisely the key Ukraine is seeking,” it added.
Videos of the day
A Russian Mi-8 military helicopter landed on a road amid traffic on Sakhalin Island. It eventually ended up in a ditch.
A Russian reconnaissance drone dropped a net over a Ukrainian interceptor drone to disable it. It appears to have succeeded.
A russian ISR drone shoots a net at the Ukrainian interceptor chasing it.
Super interesting development of the modern drone warfare. pic.twitter.com/Xx28WUB8Iw
— Dimko Zhluktenko 🇺🇦⚔️ (@dim0kq) September 2, 2026
This is what an aerial view of the city of Dobropillia, which the Russians are pushing towards, looks like. The video shows smoke rising from several parts of the city.
Dobropillya, a mining town in the Donetsk region.
Russia is trying to completely destroy it with airstrikes. No civilians will survive there.
Putin calls it “helping the people of Donbas.” But in reality, it’s genocide. pic.twitter.com/XnFy7JejlH
— Денис Казанський (@den_kazansky) September 2, 2026
What are the losses
No update.
By Monday (31 August), Russia had demonstrably lost 24,052 pieces of heavy equipment (24,035 on Tuesday, 25 August). Of these, 19,020 (19,005) were destroyed by Ukrainians, 1,000 (999) were damaged, 1,194 (1,193) were abandoned by their crews, and 2,838 (2,838) were captured by the Ukrainian army. These included 4,443 (4,440) tanks, of which 3,348 (3,346) were destroyed in combat.
Ukraine lost 12,052 (12,018) pieces of equipment, of which 9,462 (9,429) were destroyed, 697 (697) damaged, 694 (694) abandoned and 1,199 (1,198) captured. These included 1,460 (1,456) tanks, of which 1,121 (1,117) were destroyed in combat.
Note: Neither side regularly reports its own fatalities or destroyed equipment. Ukraine publishes daily figures for Russian casualties and destroyed equipment, but these cannot be independently verified. This overview uses data from the Oryx project, which has compiled a list of equipment losses documented exclusively by photographs since the start of the war.